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This is me

A busy mind in many places. One of my children was asked what I did for a living. The list given includes my main occupation of farming but also goes on to school bus driver, carpentry, furniture making, developer, designer, landscaping, handyman and more. I've traveled in most states of the union (I'm missing two) and several foreign countries. My favorite vacation is a trip to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. I like to read. Favorite authors include western author Louis L'Amour, science fiction writer Anne McCaffrey and architect Sarah Susanka. I like to sing and am a bass in our local barbershop chorus. In church I also prefer the bass part. My best friend and wife, Karen, and I have 3 children who are all busy and happily building their own lives. We have twin granddaughters born in September 2011 and another granddaughter born in April 2014.

It’s a rare event to see a gathering of Monarch Butterflies. Even more rare out here on the prairie where life is so precarious for them.

The weather conditions must be just right, and you need to be in the right place to see them. It’s so rare that I have only seen it once before in my 60 plus years. In other areas you may see millions of butterflies, I’m content to see just a few dozen. These butterflies were hiding out on the north side of the grove with a stiff south wind knocking them down. There must have been other insects there because the barn swallows were also swarming the area picking up a meal.

Getting them to sit still for a photo is also difficult. Still, there they were, flitting around the north side of the grove, gathering for their trip south. I wish them good luck on their long trip south.